


Becoming Neal Caffrey

by aymixium



Category: White Collar
Genre: Gen, Neal moves from St. Louis to New York
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-06-04 00:32:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6633487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aymixium/pseuds/aymixium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Upon learning the truth about his father, "Danny Brooks" entire life needs to change-- and now. Taking on a new name - his real one - and heading North, he finds his home in New York City.</p>
<p>This is a small piece inspired by a question directed to one of my favorite blogs, archivistsrock. I may expand on this in the future, because it's a fun time to explore in Neal's life, but for now, I hope you all enjoy this!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Becoming Neal Caffrey

Danny Brooks couldn’t believe it. He was crushed. His entire life had been a lie. Finding out the truth about his father’s "death" from Ellen had been heartbreaking. That bastard was still alive. Arrested when Danny was three, not gunned down by the bad guys to die a hero's death. There would be no hero's death for that man. No. Not at all. Not ever. How could he **do** that? Danny had spent his entire life training to be a police officer like his father (his conning aside… it was a hobby to pass the time. Nothing to worry about, really), and now… now it was for what? To be some dirty cop? If he was going to be a cop, he sure as hell wouldn’t be dirty. But the thing was, he didn't even want to _think about_ being a cop anymore.

He had to get out of St. Louis, get away from it all. Where would he even go? Somewhere big. Someone he could easily become another face in the crowd. Somewhere like… New York. Yes! That was it, he’d go to New York City. He’d always wanted to go, anyway. Wasn’t now as good a time as any?

It was as though Ellen knew the moment the idea struck him. She said nothing, only gave him a soft smile. “I’m sorry… I had to tell you.” She placed a hand on top of his. “I’ve been holding it in for so long… I wanted to tell you every day of your life, but it just wasn’t something I could do. You’re old enough, now, _Neal_. You deserve the truth.”

He didn’t even know how to respond, so he simply gave her a hug. He would miss her. God, he would miss her. She raised him better than his own mother had. He would always hold Ellen in his heart in the place reserved for a mother. He didn’t want to leave her, but how could he stay here? Everything had been a lie. Every single thing. Right down to his name.

He’d need to change that, of course. He never felt like _Danny Brooks_. His real name, Ellen had told him, was Neal George Bennett. Bennett, of course, being his father’s last name. He wanted **nothing** to do with that bastard. He had also asked Ellen what his mother’s last name had been, and he decided that had a much better ring to it, and Neal Caffrey he became.

He hugged his mother when he got home, giving her a kiss to her cheek. “I love you,” he said quietly. It wasn’t something he normally said, not with that much true emotion behind it anyway. He **did** love her, it was just more of in the way a nephew would love an aunt. He left at one o’clock in the morning and never looked back.

New York was overwhelming in so many ways, but it was good. It felt right. He couldn’t figure out why he didn’t come here sooner, honestly. It felt like home to him in the strangest of ways. He managed to con enough money on the long trip (and in addition to what he’d already saved), to haggle a landlord down to a decent price, paid in cash for a year for a great apartment. He knew he was in the right place as he looked out the window over the city’s skyline. This was going to be the start of something _great_. He knew it.


End file.
